Hailed as one of the largest, longest and most meticulously detailed turn-based JRPG series of all time, this first chapter in the ongoing Trails saga sets the stage for what's quickly become Ys developer Nihon Falcom's most popular and best-selling franchise in their entire 30+ year history.

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About This Game

Modern society owes much to a mystical technology known as “orbal energy.” Fifty years ago, during what’s come to be known as the “Orbal Revolution,” the invention of this technology and the “orbments” developed from it led to a period of rapid human advancement, birthing innovations of all shapes and sizes -- not the least of which was the airliner, or “orbalship” industry. Although the positive impact of this revolution is obvious, every coin has a flipside; for every beneficial device developed with these new materials, so too were advanced weapons and other implements of war. Thus, the land became mired with turmoil, and remains in such a state even now.

Enter, the bracers: an organization established to serve as police and intermediaries alike, holding above all else the peace and safety of the lands under their jurisdiction. Whenever a citizen is in need of assistance, he or she may place a request at the local Bracer Guild -- and be it monster extermination, crime prevention or even peace talks among warring nations, the bracers will do whatever they can to resolve the matter cleanly and efficiently.

Some matters require a gentler touch than others, however. When an orbalship transporting a legendary "S-rank" bracer named Cassius Bright suddenly goes missing, said bracer's daughter, Estelle, and adoptive son, Joshua, must join forces in search of him across the entire Kingdom of Liberl.

And what they find along the way could change both of their lives forever...

Hailed as one of the largest, longest and most meticulously detailed turn-based JRPG series of all time, this first chapter in the ongoing Trails saga sets the stage for what's quickly become Ys developer Nihon Falcom's most popular and best-selling franchise in their entire 30+ year history. Introducing people, places, ideas, events and lore that rival in complexity those of even the most highly-regarded fantasy epics in literature, the care and attention given to each and every NPC, location and historical in-game event is what sets The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky apart from its contemporaries.

Come join Estelle, Joshua, Scherazard, Olivier and the rest of the cast as they uncover the secret underbelly of Liberl in their first 50+ hour masterpiece, and see what Japanese gamers have been raving about for over ten years.

Key Features:

The original version of the first chapter in this historical series, featuring strategic turn-based combat with unmatched customization.

Over 50 hours of gameplay on average, with countless side-quests, collectibles and secrets to encourage replay.

A vast world where every NPC has a name and personality, every town has its own unique politics and economic concerns, and no detail is ever trivial.

Support for a wide variety of fullscreen and widescreen resolutions, including true 1080p HD.

Fully adjustable controls supporting virtually any USB gamepad, as well as a standard keyboard and mouse setup.

Over two dozen unique Steam Achievements, Steam Cloud support and Steam Trading Cards featuring gorgeous anime-style art from the franchise's original artists.

Numerous updates previously seen only in the handheld version, including:
- Selectable difficulty level and new game+ features on subsequent playthroughs
- Full voice-acting during combat
- "Retry Offset" feature to lower the difficulty of battle with each attempt if desired

System Requirements

Minimum:

OS: Windows XP

Processor: Pentium III 550 MHz

Memory: 512 MB RAM

Graphics: 32 MB VRAM, 3D accelerator compatible w/ DirectX 9.0c

DirectX: Version 9.0c

Hard Drive: 2 GB available space

Sound Card: Compatible with DirectX 9.0c

Recommended:

OS: Windows Vista, 7 or 8 (64-bit supported)

Processor: Core 2 Duo 2GHz or higher

Memory: 1 GB RAM

Graphics: 64 MB VRAM, 3D accelerator compatible w/ DirectX 9.0c

DirectX: Version 9.0c

Hard Drive: 3 GB available space

Sound Card: Compatible with DirectX 9.0c

(c)2004-2014 Nihon Falcom Corporation. All rights reserved. Licensed to and published by XSEED Games / Marvelous USA, Inc.

What an adorable and progressive story. I think the best part about Trails in the Sky is that the people are people. They're not just archetypes. They're developed, with feelings, and personalities, and they are, with the exception of one, all very relateable. It follows a few various tropes, but in the end you really are engrossed in the life of becoming a Bracer (the guild being super helpful law enforcement officers; reminiscent of the police I encountered when studying abroad in Japan). The story doesn't revolve around you, it evolves with you. Things are happeneing in this world, and the party isn't the focus of those events. Your characters strive to rise to the challenges presented to them, and though the storyline and paths are linear, I didn't at all mind being guided through such an enchanting tale with thought-provoking characters.

Light-hearted and childish, this game can be understood by preteens and teenagers, but much like any good story, it has underlying themes and issues that adults can grapple with and appreciate.

From the bisexual bard whose bisexuality is not the defining characteristic of his character, to the strong, bull-headed, stubborn female protagonist, this game does a pretty good job of showing me a world I'd want to be a part of, and was glad to have experienced, if only for a little while.

I played the original release of Frist Chapter back in 2006 and the Second Chapter in 2008, and now my son (4-yr-old) is playing the re-released on Steam. On a glance this is one of your staple JRPG: cute and seemingly clueless though motivated protagonists, tactical turn-based combat, heavy text-based menu and stats/mechanisms. But beneath that thin layer of disguise, you would have one of the most wonderfully made story-driven RPGs with a plot as dark as the Witcher series (dare I say) you have ever played--if you play all three entries you will reach the same conclusion.

Needless to say the story goes beyond the good vs. evil scheme, but characters in this game also evolve in a believable way. They are very aware of the changing world and interact with each other in meaningful ways. Suffice to say you won't find any one-dimensional character in this game, be it a protagonist or antagonist.

Also worth mentioning is the quality of English translation, which I believe has been to be marvelously done by professionals. It's almost like a re-interpretation of the source material--if you will--in Japanese. This definitely sets this game (and most likely its sequel--Second Chapter and the 3rd) apart from the likes of Final Fantasy and such.

You will probably find choke full o' troupes or cliché common to comics and mangas in this game:- shadowy groups with profound motives beyond human comprehensions and far reach to every corner of the continent by all means fathomed by only the most conspiracy-minded individuals in the creative industry,;- mysterious enemy combatants ranked in number not by sheer strength but their legendary reputations;- villains turned out to be activists manipulated by a greater force each step of the way without a clue;- etc.

However if you can look past this and accept that most of the deeper story-driven games are more or less like this, and it's only a matter of expertise to conceal the usage of these troupes, then you will have a wonderful time like me to explore this universe--its lore and its characters. Not to mention this is one of the few REAL steampunk themed games available on PC, or even the entire industry, consider it being a niche not generally looked into. And if you are concerned about cliffhangers since this is the only the first entry, worry not--for each "chapter"(game) conclude its story in a satisfying way, while foreshadowing the next one and leaving room for a respite and a sense of achievement.

Gameplay wise, this game sports both open-world (opened up gradually in the first 5 hours) and meaningful character customizations (able to be re-speced at any time) through assemblies of clockworks and gem-socketing (thus comply to its Steampunk theme). Enemies are varied and requires certain tactical thinking in the manners of both character positioning in the battlefield and strength/vulnerabilities of each enemy type. Character progression is also non-linear, meaning there's no hard coded class definition, so you can have detailed customization of each character's role, while everyone still has their unique specialties.

Aesthetically this is one of the more pleasing JRPGs you'll ever come across. The graphics have been remade into HD and its aesthetic design definitely takes cue from both contemporary and mid-19th century old-world life, and the visual design does a great job taking care of every minute detail in 3D and the textures are excellent if you take into account of the fact that this game is made in the early 2000's.

The soundtracks have been one of my favorites and it certainly sounds like it 's heavily inspired by the work of Academy award winner Joe Hisaishi.

To conclude this review, I would absolutely recommend this game to all RPG enthusiasts, even if you don't usually touch JRPG. When you do, make sure you endure through the first 3 or 4 hours of this game after which point the story really starts to pick up its pace.

Final verdict: first chapter of a deep and story-driven steampunk RPG trilogy, 9.5/10.

I rate this anime game 4/5 Gokus, because it has some of the best characters and storytelling I've seen in any recent jrpg. It reminds me of the kind of tone that classics like Grandia and Lunar had. The attention to detail is insane, and every npc villager in every town has something new to say after almost every event. I was really impressed by how much small talk dialogue they added.

It loses a Goku because the battle system is a ton of wasted potential. It gives you movement and attack ranges, and could easily have had more combat depth because of positioning, but in practice that doesn't happen because using a move takes your entire turn. This ends up encouraging you to simply attack at all times, since moving is baked in, and leads to no control over position unless you chose to spend multiple turns micromanaging (and if the enemy moves you have to do that again). This of course results in the usual jrpg menu-battling slapfights that I have a severe aversion to.

The combat is sadly very jrpg, requiring little player agency aside from the rare interupt to disrupt casts. Most fights can simply be completely avoided, but doing this led to me being a dozen or so levels lower than what I needed to be at the end of the game and unable to pass the levelcheck at the final boss until I pointlessly ground out bear asses to make my numbers good enough to do damage to his numbers.

The game ends as part 1 of 3, and there's a pretty huge cliffhanger. So waiting for the second chapter (which supposedly ends the main story of the two protagonists) might not be a bad idea if you're worried about Falcom's typical glacial pace.

...Now that that's out of the way, this game is definitely not for non-RPG fans, unless you like text. A lot of text. The story has decent pacing, and I like how every chapter ends on a really strong note. It makes you feel like Estelle and Joshua more than earned their recommendations. The characters however, other than Joshua and Estelle, can be rather forgetful, even if they are somewhat charming. There's just nothing special about them. They fill their tropes and fill them well. Except Schera: she's one of the standouts. As for Joshua and Estelle, they're much better characters. They should be; the entire adventure is about them. The music is good, but not great for the most part. (There are exceptions obviously.) Graphics are clearly not the main focus of the game, but what it does, it does well enough.

Bottom line: The game is pretty good for RPG fans. However, if you don't have time and/or patience, the phenomenal ending may not be worth it. If you DO have time and/or patience, I still would recommend this game.